DEWALT Thickness Planer, Two Speed, 13-inch, 15 Amp, 20,000 RPM Motor (DW735X)

I purchased this Dewalt DW735 to replace my 20yr old Ridgid TP1300. I've used it only a few weeks now. It is a great planer and fits as a replacement to my Ridgid. I do miss some features of my Ridgid. The outfeed table on my old planer was much more stable than Dewalts. Also, this model does not come with the outfeed so I purchased those seperate for $45. The Dewalt has a pre-set rotating depth dial for 1/8 -1" where my ridgid had a rangefrom 1/8 - 1³/⁴".!!! This planer is heavy!!! I built a new stand with wheels to accommodate the 90 lb weight ... about 40 pounds heavier than my previous. The weight however, does reflect a heavy duty build. It is a tank, and the 3 blades give silky glass finish.The dust collection is a learning curve. It has built-in dust ejection and it ejects with angry force. The exhaust force is so much it labors my shop vac. The best solution for me was to get a Wen $130 dust collector and that works owell. I always liked the simplicity and effectiveness of my ridgid shop vac adaptor, but if you do not currently have a dust collection system and are running shop vacs consider you might have some adjustment to make. The dust port fits 4" dust collection hoses but also has a smaller port that fit my old craftsman 6 gallon. (very tight fit)Decibals! ... this planer is loud! It's an odd, jet-engine like frequency that moans. I believe it is a result of the dust ejection system. I purchased headsets as I never needed them before. It's not deafening, but annoying at lengths of time. ... The crank to adjust depth requires a bit more effort than most but I love that you do not have to lock the depth. Just crank and go!It may seem I am complaining about The Dewalt DW735, I'm not, I am really singing the praises of my old Ridgid and it's price point of $400 from 20 yrs ago. I purchased a newer $400 Ridgid model and returned it a week later as the build was not near par to the older model. I am convinced this $600 Dewalt is the best equivalent to my RidgidI really like the Dewalt DW735 but consider ⚠️ some research and plan on some minor adjustments in dust collection prior to purchase. It is heavier and a bit louder, resulting in a tank with beautiful silky finishes. ... and it's Yellow!

***update 5/2/2024***I purchased a cyclone that attaches to a 5 gallon bucket to collect all the chips. This solution required a little tweaking (and a tool to cut the elbow to squeeze it into the planer dust port) to works, but the chips are no longer covering my driveway. It came with a hose, two elbows and a lid for the 5 gallon bucket.Dust extraction note: No dust extractor is required and I think it might actually be detrimental. The blower on the planer blows things out like a vacuum. This does create an issue when the cyclone doesn't latch and expects a vacuum to lock the lid in place. I used some small Irwin quick clamps in three locations to lock the lid on and tight. I got no leaking from the side. The exposed top let dust escape, but you can attach your hose with the vacuum off and turn on when done planing if that dust bothers you.The planer does seem to leave a lot of chips on the blades, in the carriage, and after some use, that starts coming out the front of the machine. I cleaned up my area after every couple of boards. So don't expect dust free operation. Apart from hating the mess, my concern was that the chips would impact the flatness of the boards. So, heads up.Noise: My wife said it was loud. I had ear protection on, and it sounded like a table saw/miter saw. She, however, made a note of the noise from her office, and while she could tell I was working with the other tools, she knew I was using the planer. I wasn't even doing wide hardwood pieces. Mostly cedar and 4-6" pieces. So, be aware. with my ear protection on it was like any other machine to me.**********Dewalt 735x - purchased/used April 29, 2024The good:Set up is easy. Comes with a useful torx tool annd magnet on the handle. For setup Attach the turning handle (need a tool to hold the shank while unscrewing the bolt and screwing the handle on). Need to level the plates (need 36” flat level. (Need small hex key for leveling player, I forgot the size). Attach the dust port. I also opened up the top (for screws) and then the blade cover to check on the blades. It looked like a test run had been done as I found slight traces of sawdust. No excess oil.The boards ran smoothly. While the blades are sharp, the machine is awesome. I understand that the blades can dull quickly though so fyi.It pulls the boards right out of my hands and has great power.It THROWS the chips and you will want a method to collect chips that are not a vacuum. A hose and a bucket or something. The force of the blower looks like it’s easily enough and a vacuum might be an issue. I need to find a chip collector method and I’ll update.Lots of great YouTube videos on setup, tear down, replacing blades with helical blades.Looks easy to break down and access parts (although replacing the head looks time consuming)The bad:This will likely trip a 15amp circuit. Online testing shows this can spike to 30amps and should run on a 20amp circuit.The safety on the dewalt trips around 18amps in theory, but online says that the wires connected to it are smaller and they can melt over time when under a lot of load. This can damage the safety mechanism that makes sure the machine doesn’t run when the top is off (and ironically it CAN run when it’s off).Blades are supposed to dull quickly and are expensive. I’ve run 8 boards about 6” wide and 8’ long once on each side fast and once slow. Performance is good so far. Pine and oak mix.My final conclusion is that the internet has lots of customization and fixes, which look relatively easy to do, but right out of the box everything is awesome. TBD what I think a year from now. It was between this and the cutech and I ultimately decided on this because cutech never got back to me about questions I asked them. If dewalt fails at least I have some warranty and a ton of videos help me fix myself.

I'm not really surprised that this thing is awesome because everything I read or watched said that it was. However it is great.We do cabinetry and remodels. There have been a couple times that it didn't pull the material through when I expected it to. At this point I'm still thinking it's user error because after fiddling with it- turning it off, lowering it etc. it would go ahead and pull the material through.I keep thinking that I'll upgrade it to the Helix cutter head but it cuts so good as it is- excellent actually. If your budget allows it, whether you need it professionally or for Saturdays projects there's not a better portable, job site planer. I wish there was a portable jointer on the market that stood out for quality like this planer does.

*** Dewalt Quality Product Alert ***This planer is a workhorse. I’ve been using regularly for quite a while now - here are the facts:- Build quality is excellent- Easy to use and extremely durable- Alignment and adjustment is easy to configure- Dust collection using 4" hose is excellent- Blades stay sharp for quite a while and are easy to swap out with the * built-in tool * with storage on the product- Unit is relatively heavy, but the solid foundation helps with maintaining good alignment- Cutter head has three rotating knives the width of the feeder to share the work and extend blade life- Depth adjustment handle is smooth and manually rotated to make the most minute depth adjustmentsThroughput width can slightly exceed 12" and includes embedded side rails to keep materials within blade area. I've had very few issues with snipe or gouges - would highly recommend this planer.